Terms and Conditions

Thank you for visiting Apolitical. Please read our Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy, as you must agree to these documents in order to be permitted to use our Service.

PLAIN ENGLISH

APOLITICAL’S TERMS AND CONDITIONS

At Apolitical our core value is ‘public service first’. We place paramount importance on maintaining your trust, protecting your personal data, and the quality of our service. These terms and conditions lay out the conduct and use of service material expected by our users. We will provide notice of any material updates to these terms and conditions on our website, as well as via e mail. Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions at hello@apolitical.co.

INTRODUCTION

Apolitical Group Limited (“Apolitical” or “We” or “Us” or “Our”) is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 09812036, whose registered office is at Stapleton House 2nd Floor, 110 Clifton Street, London, EC2A 4HT, UK.

By accessing, uploading, downloading or using the Apolitical website, or any applications made available by Apolitical (the “Service”), You (“You” or “Your”) agree to be bound by the following terms and conditions (the “Terms”) and our Privacy Policy as a user of the Service. The Service is a multimedia website, publishing, educational and networking platform, and email update service, all of which support professional social networking, collaboration and the sharing of information and ideas across government, public services and the public sector.

We reserve the right to update the Terms from time to time. If we make any material changes we will endeavour to notify you by email (sent to the email address specified in your account) or by means of a prominent notice on the Service prior to the change becoming effective. An updated version of the Terms, once uploaded to Our website, will be effective immediately. If You do not agree with the Terms, You should stop using the Service immediately. If You have any queries about the Service or the Terms, You can contact us using the details as set out in section 13 of these Terms.

You are responsible for making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to the Service. We cannot guarantee that the transmission of any information over your internet connection will be secure nor can we guarantee that the Service will be compatible with any or all hardware and software that you may use to visit the Service.

Access to, and the use of, some parts of the Service may be restricted to selected users only, e.g. owners or facilitators of groups or networks to control access to their groups or networks, and you may require their prior approval to join such groups or networks.

We may, at our sole discretion, refuse to register a user or to limit access to all or part of the Service to certain users, or terminate the membership of a user without providing reasons for doing so.

Although you register to use Service as an individual You are participating in your work capacity. Therefore, please make sure that you are aware of, and comply with, your employer’s (past or present) information and other policies regarding participating in collaboration platforms with access to social media tools.

Upon registering with us, you agree that the service should not be used:

For commercial gain without prior consent.

For illegal activity.

As a means to gain unauthorised access to the system or networks.

As a means to modify or adapt the pages comprising the service.

GENERAL TERMS IN RELATION TO CONDUCT & USE

By registering for the Service we grant you a non-transferable, non-exclusive, revocable, non-sublicenseable licence to use the Service through a generally available web browser, mobile device or authorised application, for your personal use. The Service must not be used by you for any commercial gain without our prior written consent. When you use the Service you must comply with these Terms and all applicable laws and regulations including any applicable international laws, and the local laws in your country of residence (together referred to as “Applicable Laws”). In particular, but without limitation, you agree not to:

Use the Service in any unlawful manner or in a manner which promotes or encourages illegal activity including (without limitation) copyright infringement; or

Attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Service or any networks, servers or computer systems connected to the Service; or

Modify, adapt, translate or reverse engineer any part of the Service or re- format or frame any portion of the pages comprising the Service, save to the extent expressly permitted by these Terms or by law.

These terms are binding on all users even if you are using it on behalf of an organisation that has a separate agreement with us.

If you are using the Service on behalf of a public authority, a company or any other legal entity you are bound by these Terms, even if that organisation has its own separate agreement with us.

You must be 18 or over.

You must be at least 18 years old to use the Service.

You are responsible for the activity on your account, including any content you may post. Any content may be subject to removal or editing. Removed content may continue to be stored by us to comply with legal obligations.

You are solely responsible for any activity that occurs through use of your account with the Service.

You are solely responsible for any data, text, files, images, videos, photos or profiles or other material uploaded via the Service for public view (“Content”) by you. We may remove, edit, block, disable or monitor any Content or user accounts from the Service at any time, without notice. Content removed from the Service may continue to be stored by Us, including, without limitation, in order to comply with certain legal obligations.

You should ensure that your account remains secure. You may be responsible for any content posted from your user account.

You must keep Your account, and any relevant password secure. We are not responsible for any Content that You upload or for any conduct of You as the user. Apolitical does not have any obligation to pre-screen or monitor, or remove any Content, however, We may do so. If Your Content violates these Terms, You may bear legal responsibility for that Content.

Should you suspect your password is known by another person, contact us immediately.

If you know or suspect that your password has been disclosed to another person you must immediately Contact Us to let us know and change your password. We have the right to disable your user name and password at any time if in our opinion we believe your account’s been compromised or if you have failed to comply with any of the provisions of these Terms.

While we require all users to present accurate information about themselves on the platform, we are not liable for false or misleading statements made by them.

While we attempt to verify the identity of our users, you should not assume that the details of users provided on the Service are accurate. We are not liable for false or misleading statements made by other users.

We grant access to the service on the condition that you:

Provide and maintain accurate information about yourself.

Post or use content which complies with our instructions and the law.

Accept responsibility for all actions taken under your user account.

Do not create additional users in order to abuse the service.

Do not seek to pass yourself off as somebody else.

We allow you access to the Service as a registered user on the following terms, which you agree:

you provide accurate, current and complete information about yourself on any registration forms on the Service (“Registration Data”)

you only use the Service to post, use or send content and messages that comply with our instructions and which are legal (in respect of the law applicable in England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and in any country from which it is posted) and appropriate to the Service;

you maintain and promptly update the Registration Data, and any other information you provide to us, to keep it accurate, current and complete;

if you cease to work within the organisation which you indicated at the time of registration you worked for, you must immediately update your Registration Data;

you take responsibility for all actions taken under your username and password;

you do not create additional registered user accounts for the purpose of abusing the functionality of the Service, or other Users;

impersonate any other person or entity, whether actual or fictitious or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent yourself, your age or your affiliation with any person or entity or use or attempt to use another user’s account;

use the Service for commercial purposes unless We have given You prior written authorisation to do so, for which We may require You to pay a fee. In particular, You may not sell or advertise any goods or services on the Service unless We have first granted You a licence to do so and have received payment of the appropriate licence fee from You;

upload, post, transmit, share or otherwise make available any unsolicited advertising (although you may upload non-commercial events you think may be of interest to other users acting in their professional capacity), unauthorised advertising, solicitations, promotional materials, “junk mail”, “spam”, “chain letters”, “pyramid schemes”, or engage in any other form of solicitation; upload, post, transmit, share or otherwise make available content unless you are sure there are no restrictions (such as copyright) on your ability to do so;

upload, post, transmit, share or otherwise make available any material that contains software viruses or any other computer code, corrupted files, files or programs designed to interrupt, destroy or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment; delete any required author attributions, legal notices or proprietary designations or labels in, or falsify the origin or source of, any material that is uploaded;

use automated scripts to collect information from or in any way seek to change the Service or otherwise interact with the Service;

register for more than one user account, register for a user account on behalf of an individual other than yourself, or register for a user account on behalf of any group or entity; or

upload, post, transmit, share or otherwise make publicly available on the Service any private, personal or sensitive information of, or concerning, any other party, including, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and credit card numbers without first having obtained their written consent to this.

Your account may be deemed inactive and deactivated if it is unused for six months.

You should be aware that, should you fail to access the Service for a period of six (6) months, your account may be deemed inactive and may be deactivated and deleted.

The service should be accessed at your discretion. We are not liable for any content which may be considered offensive – though please tell us if you see any such content.

CONTENT

You understand that by using the Service, You may encounter content that may be deemed offensive. You use the Service at Your own risk and We shall not have any liability to You for content You may find offensive.

It is your responsibility to ensure that content you post does not infringe upon the rights of any third party or breach any contract or arrangement you have with them.

You represent and warrant that:

You have the right to post any Content posted by You via the Service;

the posting and use of Your Content on the Service does not violate or infringe on the rights of any third party and

posting content on the Service this does not breach any contract or arrangement between You and a Third Party.

Please note that any content posted on the service will be non-confidential and may be viewed by other users.

Any Content posted on the Service will be non-confidential and may be viewed by other users. We can analyse Your Content and data for any purpose.

While we work our very best to maintain the quality of the service, much of the content on the service is user generated so we cannot warrant the accuracy or quality of the content posted.

Much of the information, data, text, software, photographs, graphics, messages, tags, ideas, concepts, tags, forum posts, datasets, techniques and/or any other material on the Service is generated by our users. It may be out of date and we make no commitment to update or remove Content of any user. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness, integrity or quality of any Content on the Service.

Content on the service is for information purposes only and should not be considered advice. You are responsible for any decisions taken based on the content of the service.

Content is for information only and cannot be regarded as constituting advice or recommendations (professional or otherwise) and should not be relied on without taking independent advice. You are solely responsible for any decisions you take based on your own Content and the Content of others. We disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on Content by any user to the Service, or from any reliance placed on Content by anyone who may be informed of any of its contents.

The service contains content owned by Apolitical (“Apolitical Content”), which is protected by copyright, trade mark and patent to which Apolitical owns the rights. This content must not be reproduced, modified or adapted, nor should the copyright, trade mark or patent be concealed or altered.

The Service also utilises certain content owned or licensed by Apolitical (“Apolitical Content”). Apolitical Content is protected by copyright, trade mark, patent, trade secret and other laws, and, as between You and Apolitical, Apolitical owns and retains all rights in the Apolitical Content and the Service. You will not remove, alter or conceal any copyright, trade mark, service mark or other proprietary rights notices incorporated in or accompanying the Apolitical Content and You will not reproduce, modify, adapt, prepare derivative works based on, perform, display, publish, distribute, transmit, broadcast, sell, license or otherwise exploit the Apolitical Content, other than as expressly permitted under these Terms.

The Apolitical name, logo and service marks cannot be used, edited, published, distributed or commercially exploited without our prior consent.

The Apolitical name, logo and service marks of Apolitical (the “Marks”) and are owned by Us. You cannot use, edit, vary, display, publish, distribute, store or commercially exploit the Marks without Our prior written consent.

You are solely responsible for your communications with other users.

You may also be able to communicate with other users through the Service and you acknowledge that you are solely responsible for those communications. We are not responsible for the behaviour or activities of users.

Other users may use the ideas and information that you share via the service.

We are not responsible for other users’ use ( or misuse) of the content you post. So please do not post any information you would like to be kept confidential.

The Service offers various ways for you to post your observations and comments on designated topics. It also allows users to share information by allowing them to post updates, including links to news articles and other Content to other parts of the site. Users can apply to create groups; however, we may (in our sole discretion) close or transfer groups, or remove Content if the Content violates this Agreement or others’ intellectual property rights or has been inactive for a period of time. Ideas and information that you post and share may be seen and used by other users. We cannot guarantee that other Users will not use the ideas and information that you share on the Service. Therefore, if you have an idea or information that you would like to keep confidential or don’t want others to use, or that is subject to third party rights that may be infringed by your sharing it, do not post it to any group, or elsewhere on the Service. We are not responsible for any other person’s misuse or misappropriation of any Content or information you post on the Service.

By posting content on the service you allow us to use, adapt and commercialise your content for the purpose of providing the best service to users and promote the specific community to which the content was made available.

By making Content available on the Service you grant us (and our agents, successors and assignees) an irrevocable, fully paid-up and royalty-free, perpetual licence (with the right to sub- licence and to assign) to use, prepare derivative works of, improve, distribute, publish, reproduce, modify, adapt, remove, retain, add, process, analyse, use and commercialise your Content via the Service in any way now known or discovered in the future for the following purposes:

providing the Service to users and promoting the specific community or other part of the Service to which such Content was made available;

so that the Content can be made available and be used, viewed and downloaded by those users that have access to the specific community or other part of Service to which such Content was made available.

Apolitical are not responsible for any third party services which might be accessible via links, images or functionality of the service.

There may be links from the Service, or from communications You receive from the Service, to third-party web sites or features. There may also be links to third-party web sites or features in images or comments within the Service. The Service also includes third-party content that We do not control, maintain or endorse. Functionality of the Service may also permit interactions between the Service and a third-party web site or feature, including applications that connect the Service or Your profile on the Service with a third-party web site or feature. You may be enabled to share Content from the Service or Your Content with a third party, which may be publicly posted on that third party’s service or application. Apolitical does not control any of these third-party web services or any of their content. You expressly acknowledge and agree that Apolitical is in no way responsible or liable for any such third-party services or features.

Some functionality and facilities within the service may be provided for a fee, which must be paid in advance before any use of the functionality.

PAID SERVICES

Some functionality and facilities within the Service may be provided for a fee which must be paid to Us in advance of the functionality or facility being taken up. These may be chargeable at a user, group owner or network owner level depending on the functionality or facility.

We reserve the right to change our fees from time to time.

We reserve the right to change our fees from time to time.

If you have breached any terms and we as a result terminate a paid service, you will not be liable to any refund.

If we terminate a paid for service because you have breached the Terms, You shall not be entitled to a refund of any unused portion of our fees (if there are any)

We will store your payment information should you pay a fee to us.

If you pay (or have paid) a fee you agree to us storing your payment information.

Should you at any point be overdue any fees, we reserve the right to terminate any paid subscription.

You also agree to pay all of our fees as they become due, and to be responsible for paying all related taxes (including any value added tax) and to pay any costs which we may have to incur to collect our fees, as well as interest on any amounts which may be overdue. If you fail to pay, we may terminate your subscription to the service(s) you have paid for.

We treat our users’ personal information information with paramount importance, as set out in our privacy policy.

PRIVACY POLICY

We take Your privacy very seriously. We will only use Your personal information in accordance with the terms of Our Privacy Policy. By using the Service, You acknowledge and agree that You have read and accept the terms to Our Privacy Policy and these Terms.

Please note that use of the service is at your own risk. Apolitical is not liable for any of the following damages arising through use of the service:

Technical failure

Damage to users or their equipment

Economic loss

Loss of goodwill

Actions of third parties

Any liability on Apolitical’s part will be limited to a sum of £100, other than in the case of death or injury as a result of its negligence or any other liability which cannot be excluded by English law.

DISCLAIMER/LIABILITY

Use of the Service is at Your own risk. The Service is provided on an “as is” basis. To the maximum extent permitted by law: (a) Apolitical disclaims all liability whatsoever, whether arising in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise in relation to the Service; and (b) all implied warranties, terms and conditions relating to the Service (whether implied by statue, common law or otherwise), including (without limitation) any warranty, term or condition as to accuracy, completeness, satisfactory quality, performance, fitness for purpose or any special purpose, availability, non-infringement, information accuracy, interoperability, quiet enjoyment and title are, as between Apolitical and You are hereby excluded. In particular, but without prejudice to the foregoing, We accept no responsibility for any technical failure of the internet and/or the Service; or any damage or injury to users or their equipment as a result of or relating to their use of the Service. Your statutory rights are not affected.

Apolitical will not be liable, in contract, tort (including, without limitation, negligence), under statute or otherwise, as a result of or in connection with the Service, for any: (i) economic loss (including, without limitation, loss of revenues, profits, contracts, business or anticipated savings); or (ii) loss of goodwill or reputation; or (iii) special or indirect or consequential loss.

Apolitical is not responsible for the actions, content, information, or data of third parties, and You release Us, our directors, officers, employees and agents from any claims, known or unknown arising out of or in connection with any claim You have against any third party.

If Apolitical is liable to You directly or indirectly in relation to the Service, that liability (howsoever arising) shall be limited to £100.

Nothing in these Terms shall be construed as excluding or limiting the liability of Apolitical for death or personal injury caused by its negligence or for any other liability which cannot be excluded by English law.

You shall be liable to compensate Apolitical for any damages, including loss of reputation, suffered as a result of:

A breach of the terms

Content uploaded from your account

A breach of law

Misrepresentation

Any claim made against us by a third party relating to your use of the service.

INDEMNITY

You shall indemnify Us against all liabilities, costs, expenses, damages or losses including direct and indirect consequential losses, loss of profit, loss of reputation and all interest, penalties and legal costs (calculated on a full indemnity basis) and all other professional costs and expenses suffered or incurred by Us arising out of or in connection with:

a breach by You of the Terms;

the enforcement of the Terms against You;

the Content You upload or uploaded from Your account;

a breach of any Applicable Law;

any misrepresentation made by You or

any claim made against Us by a third party relating to your use of the Service, howsoever arising.

Apolitical reserves the right to suspend or cease providing any services with or without notice and can limit a user’s access at any time.

Apolitical cannot guarantee that the service will be error-free or interrupted at all times, however we will do our best to notify you of any routine maintenance as far as we can.

SERVICE SUSPENSION

Apolitical reserves the right to suspend or cease providing any services relating to the Service with or without notice, and shall have no liability or responsibility to You in any manner whatsoever if it chooses to do so. We can limit Your access to the Service at any time. Apolitical does not represent or warrant that the Service will be error-free or un-interrupted.

We expect to provide updates to the Service, and to perform routine maintenance from time to time. These may involve a small period of time where the Service is unavailable. Service announcements will be notified on the site as far as it is possible to do so.

In the event of unscheduled or emergency maintenance for security or any other reason, the Service may be unavailable for a period of time with no advance warning.

We accept no responsibility for adverts placed on the service.

The purchase of any goods or services from a third party is done at your own risk.

ADVERTISERS’ ON THE SERVICE

We accept no responsibility for adverts (including the provision of any goods or services relating thereto) contained on the Service. If You agree to purchase goods and/or services from any third party who advertises on the Service You do so at Your own risk. The advertiser, not Apolitical, is responsible for such goods and/or services and if You have any queries or complaints in relation to them, Your only recourse is against the advertiser.

Please contact us immediately if you have any complaints about the operation of the service or:

Believe that any content has been uploaded wrongfully, illegally or accidentally.

Are being harassed or bullied by another user.

Believe the service is being used in a manner at odds with the law or codes of conduct.

We will take all reasonable steps to ensure the smooth and proper running of the service for our users.

COMPLAINTS

If you:

have any complaints about the operation of the Service

believe that any images or Content have been uploaded to the Service wrongfully, illegally or accidentally;

are being harassed or bullied by any other users of the Service;

believe the Service is being used by any person in any manner contrary to law or any applicable codes of conduct;

Then please contact us immediately. We will take all reasonable steps within our power to ensure the smooth and proper running of the Service, which may include, amongst, other things, the removal of any inappropriate Content from the Service, termination of user access, or the reporting of misuse of the Service to any appropriate legal authorities.

If you no longer wish to use the service, please contact us.

We reserve the right to cancel your membership and restrict access to the services. These terms shall remain in place even after termination.

TERMINATION

If you no longer wish to be a user, please use the user termination facility on the Service, or contact us.

If we believe that you have not complied with the Terms we may, at our discretion and without incurring liability, cancel your membership and restrict access to the Service immediately and without giving you any prior notice.

Even after termination (for whatever reason) these Terms shall remain in full force and effect.

These terms form an agreement between you and Apolitical and concern your use of the service. They are subject to change and should therefore be reviewed regularly.

These terms shall be governed by English law and should they be deemed unenforceable then such provisions shall be construed to reflect the intentions of the parties.

GENERAL

These Terms (as amended from time to time) constitute the entire agreement between You and Apolitical concerning Your use of the Service.

We may assign or subcontract any rights under the Terms without Your consent. You may not assign or transfer any rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent.

You are responsible for regularly reviewing these Terms so that You are aware of any changes to them and You will be bound by any updated Terms. No other variation to these Terms shall be effective unless in writing and signed by an authorised representative on behalf of Apolitical.

If any provision(s) of these Terms is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid or unenforceable, then such provision(s) shall be construed, as nearly as possible, to reflect the intentions of the parties (as reflected in the provision(s)) and all other provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

Apolitical’s failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision unless acknowledged and agreed to by Apolitical in writing. No single or partial exercise of such right or remedy shall prevent or restrict the further exercise of that or any right or remedy.

Unless otherwise expressly stated, nothing in the Terms shall create any rights or any other benefits whether pursuant to the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 or otherwise in favour of any person other than You and Apolitical.

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.